This invention relates to a two-piece battery terminal shield having an improved hinge and latch. Batteries on many current vehicles are provided with battery terminal shields which enclose the battery terminals and battery cable connectors. The battery shields protect the battery terminals and connections from corrosion and also prevent inadvertent contact with the terminals by a person working on the vehicle.
Current battery terminal shields comprise a generally planar base portion having a orifice for receiving the battery terminal. A cover generally comprises a generally planar upper wall and a peripheral wall extending downwardly from the periphery of the upper wall. The cover and base are molded together as a single piece and connected by a living hinge. A pair of latch windows extend upwardly from either side of the base portion. The peripheral wall of the cover includes a pair of latches which snap into the latch windows on the base. The peripheral wall of the cover is deformable inwardly to selectively release the latches from the latch windows to open the cover of the battery terminal shield.
Current designs of the battery terminal shields have several drawbacks. First, during manufacture, the living hinge must be opened and closed several times immediately after the molding of the base and cover in order to develop the living hinge. This additional step increases the manufacturing time and cost. Second, the living hinge becomes brittle in cold temperatures. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that access to battery terminals is more often required during cold weather. Further, cracking of the peripheral wall can occur when the peripheral wall is excessively deformed inwardly, particularly in cold temperatures. Further, it is difficult to grip and deform inwardly the peripheral wall to open the cover and access the battery terminals when wearing gloves, a particular drawback since access to the battery terminal cover is frequently required in cold weather.